Kenny Croxdale
Level 7 Valued Member
Some information on this has already been posted on this StrongFirst
Here is some additional information on to employ stretching to elicit a greater training effect and what to avoid.
Antagonist Hamstring Stretching Before Squatting
As per this research here's the...
Conclusion: Stretching the hamstrings immediately before each set of the back squat can be used to acutely increase biceps femoris thickness without impairing squat performance.
Generating More Power in The Agonist Muscles
Not only does it appear that the Antagonist Hamstring Muscle thickness is increased when stretched prior to the Squat, additional research shows after stretching the Antagonist Muscles, greater force is produced in the following Agonist Muscles.
Bench Press Example
Stretching the Lats (like hanging from a Pull Up Bar) increases force production (strength/power) when the Bench Press is then performed.
Agonist Stretching
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4e9a/32a0d2a97ba3e719dd74641dc2fe91af9c9f.pdf
Steve Freides presented some information on this in a previous post.
Other research studies have come to the same conclusion.
Short Agonist Muscle Stretches
A short stretch of the Agonist Muscles (15 seconds in this study) determined more force was generated.
As an example, performing something like a Dip Stretch prior to the Bench Press increased force production.
The article above, as well as many other, have determined that long stretches of the Agonist Muscle of 30 seconds or longer like a Dip Stretch, decrease force production in let's say the Bench Press.
As in medicine, "The poison is in the dose." The "Stretch Dose" in this case being the amount of time the muscle are stretched.
Long Antagonist Muscle Stretches
Antagonist Stretches prior to an Agonist Exercise appears to increase muscle mass in the Antagonist Muscles, as well as increasing force production in the following Agonist Exercise.
Here is some additional information on to employ stretching to elicit a greater training effect and what to avoid.
Antagonist Hamstring Stretching Before Squatting
Frontiers | Pre-stretching of the Hamstrings Before Squatting Acutely Increases Biceps Femoris Thickness Without Impairing Exercise Performance
<p><bold>Background:</bold> Bilateral squat exercise is widely used in resistance training (RT) programs to increase lower limb strength and muscle mass, but...
www.frontiersin.org
As per this research here's the...
Conclusion: Stretching the hamstrings immediately before each set of the back squat can be used to acutely increase biceps femoris thickness without impairing squat performance.
Generating More Power in The Agonist Muscles
Not only does it appear that the Antagonist Hamstring Muscle thickness is increased when stretched prior to the Squat, additional research shows after stretching the Antagonist Muscles, greater force is produced in the following Agonist Muscles.
Bench Press Example
Stretching the Lats (like hanging from a Pull Up Bar) increases force production (strength/power) when the Bench Press is then performed.
Agonist Stretching
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4e9a/32a0d2a97ba3e719dd74641dc2fe91af9c9f.pdf
Steve Freides presented some information on this in a previous post.
Other research studies have come to the same conclusion.
Short Agonist Muscle Stretches
A short stretch of the Agonist Muscles (15 seconds in this study) determined more force was generated.
As an example, performing something like a Dip Stretch prior to the Bench Press increased force production.
The article above, as well as many other, have determined that long stretches of the Agonist Muscle of 30 seconds or longer like a Dip Stretch, decrease force production in let's say the Bench Press.
As in medicine, "The poison is in the dose." The "Stretch Dose" in this case being the amount of time the muscle are stretched.
Long Antagonist Muscle Stretches
Antagonist Stretches prior to an Agonist Exercise appears to increase muscle mass in the Antagonist Muscles, as well as increasing force production in the following Agonist Exercise.
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